Jim Norton
Jim Norton, or Little Jimmy, (born July 19, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian, radio personality, author, and actor. He plays an Auditioner in Zack and Miri Make a Porno. Norton is a regular on-air personality on The Opie and Anthony Show. He has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno six times and on the Late Show with David Letterma], filmed an HBO stand-up special for the series One Night Stand as well as his special "Monster Rain". He co-starred in the short-lived HBO sitcom Lucky Louie and had a cameo in the film Spider-Man. Norton recently hosted the filming of four episodes for an HBO stand-up showcase titled Down and Dirty with Jim Norton and was on The Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget. Career At age 12, Norton decided he wanted to be a comedian after seeing Richard Pryor's special Richard Pryor: Live in Concert. Norton became a comedian in the early 1990s, when comic Jim Florentine helped Norton receive his first paying stand-up gig. Norton lived with Florentine for several years while they broke into show business. In Norton's bio, Judi Brown of the Aspen Comedy Festival says, "He's so brutally honest. He's very refreshing in a business where a lot of people are phony." Radio Norton became a regular guest on The Opie and Anthony Show in late 1999 after several entertaining guest appearances by himself and along with Andrew Dice Clay. Norton has co-hosted The Opie and Anthony Show since it reemerged on XM Radio in October 2004. He is famous for such bits as "Frunkis", "Uncle Paul", "Ted", "Boardroom Jimmy", "Jimcy" , and calling in and screaming "Ramone," as "Steve from Yellowstone", when the show hosts irritating guests. Television For two years, Norton was a regular on the Comedy Central's Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, which aired four nights per week. He was selected to be among the final twenty contestants for the second season of Last Comic Standing, but had to back out due to contractual obligations. In 2006, Norton landed the role of Rich on the HBO series Lucky Louie. Rich is a foul-mouthed, perverted, "ill-informed", straight shooting character that lives with his mother and deals pot to high schoolers for a living, departing from the traditionally tamer sitcom model of a supporting character. Lucky Louie ran for one season before HBO opted not to renew the series. In June 2008, Norton taped several episodes of The Gong Show with Dave Attell as one of the celebrity judges. Since mid 2007, Norton has been a regular guest on Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld on the Fox News Channel. Norton has a new show premiering October 3rd, 2008 at 12AM EDT/PDT on HBO called Down and Dirty with Jim Norton. Stand-up Norton frequently tours the country, performing at the most well-known comedy clubs. In 2004, Norton was voted best comedian and breakthrough performer of the year on the Cringe Humor website, which is dedicated to some prominent New York comedians. Norton frequently performs at Caroline's and the Comedy Cellar, and sometimes performed at the weekly alternative standup "Eating It" show at the Luna Lounge before it closed in 2005. Norton was the Best Man at fellow comedian Rich Vos's 2005 wedding to Bonnie McFarlane. In June 2006, Norton helped arrange Opie and Anthony's Traveling Virus Comedy Tour. During August and September of that year, Norton was the headline comedian for some dates of Traveling Virus comedy tour.[http://www.foundrymusic.com/opieanthony/displayheadline.cfm/id/9904/ Foundrymusic.com Headlines: THE OPIE AND ANTHONY TRAVELING VIRUS - 2006 COMEDY FESTIVAL He returned to the 2007 tour as well.[http://www.foundrymusic.com/opieanthony/displayheadline.cfm/id/11314 Foundrymusic.com Headlines: OPIE AND ANTHONY TRAVELING VIRUS COMEDY TOUR 2008 Norton performed at Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2008. Writing In February 2007, it was announced on The Opie and Anthony Show that Norton was close to finishing a book believed to be an autobiographical collection of stories and anecdotes from his childhood and his comedy career. Norton said on-air that he selected the title, Sorry, the Pages are Stuck Together, from a "Name Jimmy's Book" thread on a popular Opie and Anthony message board. However, the final title of the book ended up as "Happy Endings: The Tales of a Meaty-Breasted Zilch" due to publishing conflicts. The book was released on July 10, 2007.Norton, Jim (2007). Happy Endings: The Tales of a Meaty-Breasted Zilch. Simon Spotlight Entertainment. ISBN 978-1416950226. It reached #4 on the New York Times Bestseller list for hardcover nonfiction.[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/books/bestseller/0729besthardnonfiction.html Hardcover Nonfiction - New York Times The book entered the Amazon.com Top 10 for books on the day it was released, peaking at #7. In the book Norton confesses his love of literature, most notability his admiration for the Irish author, poet and playwright Samuel Beckett. Beckett’s minimalist, bleak and existential viewpoint immediately appealed to Norton's wry and often scathing sense of humor. An ex-girlfriend introduced him to Beckett’s work while in his late twenties. In an excerpt from his book Norton writes, “(she) would often quote passages from ''Molloy and Endgame while squatting over my chest... one night, during the awkwardness caused by the delay of her laxative taking effect, she looked down at me and asked, ‘Are you Waiting for Godot or Krapp's Last Tape you dirty boy!’ We both cracked up like silly geese and I knew I was in love.”'' Norton's newest book I Hate Your Guts is due to come out on November 4, 2008. Film Norton had a one-line cameo in the film Spider-Man. His cameo occurs midway through the film when various New Yorkers are being interviewed for their opinions of Spider-Man. As a surly truck driver character, Norton replies "He stinks and I don't like him". Film director and frequent Opie and Anthony call-in guest Kevin Smith announced on the show the he would have a "small, but important role" for Norton in his next film Zack and Miri Make a Porno. Other works Norton's first CD was released in 2003 entitled Yellow Discipline. His latest CD, Trinkets I Own Made From Gorilla Hands, was released in April 2005. Norton appears on the internet video series The Good Side of Bad News on the Super Deluxe website with his good friend, comedian Jim Florentine. He plays the role of Officer Morrison in the video game Bully, and a pornography director in Grand Theft Auto IV, both by Rockstar. Personal life Norton is an avid autograph and celebrity photo collector. In June 2006, he commented on the CBS radio show of his disdain for the New York Yankees after Derek Jeter's Turn 2 10th Anniversary Charity Event. He was upset that Jeter repeatedly avoided autographing a photograph for which Norton posed with the Yankee shortstop, and even more annoyed when he saw Jeter eagerly pose for a woman's photo. Norton also criticized Ron Guidry and Jim Leyritz, who did not show enthusiasm for his requests for a photo. Norton apparently felt snubbed by the star attendees, except Joe Torre and Jason Giambi, and declared himself to be a Yankee fan no longer. To date, Norton has not decided on a team to support. Norton also criticized Gene Simmons (of KISS fame) for blowing off his request for an autograph, leading to an on-air tirade by Norton. He publicly disavowed his fandom of Gene Simmons, who eventually visited the radio show where Norton confronted him on the subject. Simmons then gladly took a photo with him, explaining that he was preoccupied at the event, not realizing Norton was there. Norton's good faith seemed to be restored after this encounter. Norton also eagerly shared a banana with Simmons. Opie and Anthony mocked him about how eager Norton was to share it. Norton is also a huge fan of Black Sabbath and frontman Ozzy Osbourne, vowing to defend them "to the death". In his October 2007 HBO special, Norton told a joke about America's poker craze in which he admitted that he was a recovering alcoholic and addict. Jim has mentioned many times''' on The Opie and Anthony Show that he completed rehab at age eighteen and has been sober since, although he still suffers through a sexual addiction. As reported on October 9, 2008, Jim Norton is currently being sued by self-proclaimed, anti-feminist Roy Hollander over how he was treated during a phone interview on the Opie & Anthony Show.Daily News: Lawyer sues 'Opie and Anthony's' Jim Norton for x-rated jokes Filmography '''Actor' * 1997 Brokers ...Homeless Guy * 2000 Sidespliters: The Burt & Dick Story ...Dick * 2000 Ed .... (two episodes) * 2002 Run Ronnie Run ...Police Officer (uncredited) * 2002 American Dummy .... Eddie Barnum * 2002 Errors, Freaks & Oddities .... Paul * 2002 Tough Crowd With Colin Quinn .... Various (unknown episodes) * 2002 Spider-Man .... Surly Truck Driver * 2002 Rock Bottom .... Diesel * 2003 The Gynecologists ...Sheldrake * 2006 Lucky Louie (TV) .... Rich * 2006 Bully (Video Game) .... Officer Morrison * 2008 Zack and Miri Make a Porno .... Auditioner * 2008 Grand Theft Auto IV (Video Game; Radio Personality) .... Chuck on "Just or Unjust" on WKTT Radio Writer *2005 One Night Stand (TV) (unknown episodes) *2007 Jim Norton: Monster Rain (TV) Self *1998 The Jim Breuer Show *2002 Comedian *2002 Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn (TV) *2004 Meet The Creeps Vol. 1 *2004 Last Comic Standing *2004 The Tonight Show with Jay Leno *2005 One Night Stand *2005 The Tonight Show with Jay Leno *2006 The Late Show with David Letterman *2007 Lucky Louie: A Week In The Life *2007 Jimmy Kimmel Live (1 Episode) *2007 The Tonight Show with Jay Leno *2007 Jim Norton: Monster Rain (TV) *2007 Looking for Lenny *2008 Down and Dirty with Jim Norton (TV) *2008 The Gong Show with Dave Attell (TV) *2008 The Roast of Bob Saget (TV Episode) *2008 '' The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' References External links *Jim Norton's Official Site *imdb.com *Lucky Louie - Jim's HBO show *Opie and Anthony Category:Cast Category:Zack and Miri Make a Porno Cast